The Presidio's new plan will demolish several buildings to create open space and provide room for retail and commercial development. The plan awaits approval from the trust's board of directors, which may not happen until next year.

Despite protests from neighbors and environmentalists, who have been struggling to keep new development out of the prestigious area, the Presidio Trust says it will move forward with its plan. Officials claim that the Presidio needs to provide money for educational programs under a 1996 Congress order, and is presently not self-sufficient.

Under the congressional order, the Presidio is subject to be liquidated and sold to private bidders unless it becomes financially stable by 2013. Some ideas that the Presidio Trust has suggested include raising the number of residents from 2,250 to 3,720, increasing open space under the Presidio's control from 696 acres to 793 acres, and decreasing the space of building-covered property from 6 million SF to 5.6 million SF in the next 20 years.